Women Trading Sex in a U.S.-Mexico Border City: A Qualitative Study of the Barriers and Facilitators to Finding Community and Voice

Poverty and income inequality can increase a woman’s decision to engage in risky transactional sex, and may lead to unimaginable harms, such as violence, substance use, and human trafficking. This study examines the facilitators and barriers to finding community and voice among women trading sex in Tijuana, Mexico, and what factors, such as socio-structural support, violence, and substance use, may impact their potential to engage with others, including human service providers. Sixty qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with women trading sex in Tijuana, Mexico. Researchers met with participants for in-depth-face-to-face structured interviews. Data were coded using ATLAS.ti. Participants were aged 19–73 (mean: 37), 98% were of Mexican nationality, 90% reported trading sex independent of the control of others, with 58% identified as independent and street-based. Thirty percent of women trading sex reported substance use (excluding marijuana) and 20% reported injection drug use within 30 days. The majority reported no involvement in mobilization activities, but 85% expressed interest. However, barriers included stigma, cultural gender norms, partner violence, and privacy in regards to disclosure of sex trade involvement, moral conflict (revealing one’s involvement in sex trade), involvement in substance use, human trafficking, and feeling powerless. Facilitators were having a safe space to meet, peer support, self-esteem, feeling heard, knowledge of rights, economic need to support families, and staying healthy. Findings imply the potential to go beyond mobilizing limited groups of women in the sex trade and instead involve whole community mobilization; that is, to reach and include the more vulnerable women (substance use, trafficked) in supportive services (social services, exit strategies, better healthcare opportunities, and/or education for healthcare providers to help break societal stigmas regarding women in the sex trade) and to change the status of women in society in general.